Good things come to those who wait, right? Patience is a virtue and even though it’s felt strange having three races before the Bahrain Grand Prix, we’re excited to be back in Sakhir and ready to go duelling in the desert.

Even though we’ve never actually won in Bahrain, the circuit - located in the heart of the Sakhir desert - has produced some blockbuster races in the past, most notably Kimi Räikkönen’s charge from 22nd to third in 2005.

Ahead of the season’s first night race, we’ve spoken with Team Principal Andrea Stella as well as Lando and Oscar, we’ve also covered off what we love about the race, what the biggest challenges are and prepared another brain teaser for you.

“Bahrain up next! I’m excited to be racing here this weekend. It’s the first evening race of the season, so I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do in different conditions to what we’ve had so far. 

“We’ve hit a good momentum with back-to-back double podiums. We’re so early into the season, but we can already see that every point counts. And that’s what we’ll continue to aim for – a fun race and more points in the bag. Let’s go!” 

“It has been three very encouraging race weekends so far in 2025. I’ve felt like I’ve had very strong pace and I’m taking real momentum with me to Bahrain. 

“The car feels great so credit to the team for all the hard work. I’m looking forward to getting down to business at the track.”  

“After a positive result in Suzuka, we now return to Bahrain ready for the first evening race of the year.    

“The MCL39 has proven to be competitive over the first three races but we remain realistic about the work we have to do to maintain our competitiveness. Pre-season testing here in February was relatively positive, but we expect to find slightly different conditions on our return now in April.  

"We look forward to seeing everyone again at our second home race in Bahrain. The support we receive here has always been deeply appreciated and motivates us to keep pushing as hard as we can to secure more points, podiums and wins.” 

Why we love the Bahrain Grand Prix

Overtaking, lots of overtaking. The track has become F1’s go-to for pre-season testing because it offers a variety of different challenges, including several different overtaking opportunities.

The circuit was built with wheel-to-wheel racing in mind and there are several opportunities in the first half of the lap alone. The heavy braking zone at Turn 1, on the back of a lengthy straight, is ripe for a move, but even if drivers can’t make an overtake stick in the first corner, they can remain close and give it another go at Turns 2 and 3 and after another straight going into Turn 4.

The next chance comes at the 11th corner, but Turns 5 to 10 have been designed to allow cars to get close to one another, in anticipation of a move at Turn 11. 

What are the challenges?

The race begins in daylight at dusk and finishes in darkness, which is brilliant from an aesthetic point of view, but challenging for the engineers. With two of the three practice sessions taking place during the day, it is also difficult to plan for.

The temperature can drop significantly, with the race beginning in over 25-degree heat and ending as low as 18. This impacts the car’s entire setup, even the aerodynamic performance, but especially the cooling package and how the tyres behave, lessening their grip and altering the level of degradation. Switching from sunlight to artificial floodlights can also have an impact on visibility, with drivers sometimes using different visors for day and night races.

Wind is also a factor, as the direction of it can change by 180 degrees during the day, which results in sand being blown onto the track from the desert. This decreases grip but it can also get stuck in the car’s cooling systems, which presents the team with another challenge to consider.

The season so far

Lando and Oscar made it five podiums, including two wins, from the opening three races, last time out in the Japanese Grand Prix, with the former finishing second and the latter in third, becoming just the seventh driver in F1 history to score a podium on his birthday.

The 33-point haul means we’ve scored the most points in every round of the season so far, helping us to top both the Constructors’ and Drivers’ Championships. 

The fit

Ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix, we suggested you stock up on some new T-shirts and polos. This weekend, we’d like to introduce you to the wonderful world of layering.

Everyone loves a hoodie and ours is as comfortable and practical as it is stylish. It goes nicely with a pair of slim-fitting black joggers for a great gym fit. Or if you’re after something a little more smart-casual, we’d recommend the quarter zip with a pair of black jeans or chinos.